| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 2989.1 | Mid-State trail - Ashby MA to Rt.12,Ashburnham | CONSLT::MCBRIDE | Reformatted to fit your screen | Thu Jul 06 1995 12:22 | 78 |
| Mid-State trail, Ashby MA to Ashburnham MA (and beyond) this route ends
at Rt. 12 just south of Ashburnham center. Locate where the trail
crosses Rt. 12 and find a small dirt parking area to the north on the
Northwest side of Rt. 12. Drop a car here and at the trail head.
Rating - some Medium, mostly Difficult, 99% single track, some sections
unrideable, maybe 5-10% walking. Two road crossings with a short section
on Rt 101. Will need to stage cars at either end of the trail. Length
approx. 9.5 mi. Topo maps are available of the Mid-State detailing the
terrain.
Directions - Get to Ashburnham Center and follow Rt. 101 North for
approx. .9 mi. Turn Left onto Stowell Rd. Follow up until it turns
into dirt and ends at a T. Entrance to trail is to the right and on
the right about 100'. Follow the yellow triangular blazes forever.
The first section is typical N.E. forest single track. Some roots and
rocks but quite rideable. The trail heads up fairly gradually
immediately upon entering the woods. The trees are mostly evergreens
at this point. The trail leads to the top of a hill with a small
clearing and unofficial camp site. Bear to the right at the camp site.
There will be white blazes also but follow the Yellow ones. There are
several rolling sections in here with some nice downhills and a few
short but steep climbs. The trail winds through some rolling terrain and
heads downhill eventually crossing Rt. 101 near a scout camp or something
similar. There is a lake to the right. This first section is a good
warm up for what is in store. Turn right on 101 and follow for about
100 yrds and take the first left. There should be blazes on the
telephone poles to point the way.
Up a small hill on pavement and follow down the hill to a curve to the
left, There will be a telephone pole with yellow blazes marking the
entrance back into the woods. Watch out for the two large dogs
(Rotties?) at the white house on the right as you climb the paved hill.
Be thankful they are chained up!
The trail starts back up again immediately. This section is steeper
and rockier than the previous. The worst part of the ride lays ahead
about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. There are short sections in here that are
rideable but very steep. The trail continues up until you reach the
bottom of a set of ledges. Follow the trail to the right to go around
the ledges or climb the ledge face itself. Most riders will walk this
section regardless. The trail is quite steep with a few rocks but
mostly packed dirt, leaves, and pine needles. The trail becomes
partially rideable again at the top of the ledges. There will be some
scrambling over and around rocks with short sections that are rideable.
The rewards are well worth it though as the best parts are yet to come.
Follow the ridge line with an occasional need to climb over larger
rocks and broken rock slabs. The trail will open out onto a ledge with
great views of Watatic lake or Stodge Meadow pond (?). The trail
continues to wind back into the woods and heads downhill with a few rocky
sections. Take care to watch for fallen logs that have not been cut out
of the way yet. The trail will eventually cross a rock wall and turn
left heading up slightly before a long decent down to another paved
road. There are several small and large trees to the right of the
trail and the rock wall to the left. It can be ridden fast but with
a healthy dose of caution.
Once to the road, cross and head straight through a field sticking to
the tree line. There will be a dirt road on the left after a 100 yards
or so. Follow the dirt road and bear right back into the woods on a
dual track, still marked by the yellow blazes. This section will end
up on Rt. 12. This is a really fast section. There are a few roots
and rocks to look out for but for the most part is is all downhill and
you can let it rip. You will come out behind someone's house, there
will be a blue dumpster on the left and a snowplow on the right. Avoid
hitting these :-). Ride time was about 2 hours with one short stop.
There is another section which starts south on Rt. 12 about 100 yards
or so down and empties out on a dirt road somewhere in the wilds of
Westminster for an additional 4.5 miles or so. There is a lot of
climbing in here and some very rooty sections as well. The scenery is
nice though and all sections are rideable for the most part. I do not
remember which road it empties out onto but the a topo would detail
this.
Brian
|
| 2989.2 | Damon Pond/Pearl Hill Rec areas, Townsend MA | CONSLT::MCBRIDE | Reformatted to fit your screen | Thu Jul 06 1995 14:35 | 84 |
| Damon Pond and Pearl Hill recreation areas: Townsend and Fitchburg MA.
State Parks with fireroads and mixed use trails, evidence of horse
riding. Map available at Ranger's station for either area.
Rating - mostly Medium with some long climbs on fireroads and some
technical sections with a lot of rocks. Fast to very fast downhills on
narrow paths.
Directions:
Pearl Hill - West Townsend Rd. out of Fitchburg to Pearl Hill Recreation
area. Enter through parking lot. Trails extend to Rt. 31 and Willard
Brook/Damon Pond areas. Parking is $2.00 in lot or park down the road
on the shoulder and ride in. Trails also across road along W. Townsend
Rd. with several obvious points of entry, not explored in detail here.
Damon Pond/Willard Brook - Rt. 31 N out of Fitchburg to the Rt. 31
Store on the right, near Micro Tool. Park on South side of Rt. 31 Store
on dirt. Power bars, subs, drinks and beer available in store. Ride
about 1/2 mile up Rt. 31 to a road (Pearl St.?) that angles off to the
right. Road will be sand covered but paved. A grassy clearing on the
right will yield easy trails if you follow the tree line down on the
right and into the woods. Better option is to follow paved road to
closed gate for park.
Paved road will eventually come to Damon Pond swimming area. You could
probably park near the gate as well as there were no signs to prohibit it.
Alternative is to park in the Damon Pond area but I would be concerned
with security and crowds. This is the part we rode. We did about 7.5
miles though there is a lot more terrain to explore with several loops
that could be repeated for a longer ride.
Another area is down the road on 119 on the left near the water falls.
We did not explore this even on a drive by but there are trail back
there from memory. There are also houses above the falls so I suspect
the riding terrain is limited.
From Rt. 31 - Just before the gate, a dirt road heads up along a field on
the right and woods on the left. Follow this for about 1/2 mile to a cul
de sac and keep going straight into the woods. A fire road will eventually
start down. There is a single track angling off to the right just
before it starts down. It is narrow with a lot of Mountain Laurel but few
rocks or other obstacles. It heads down immediately for a nice fast
windy section to a dirt road. Bear right on the dirt road to another
section of single track heading down again. This is shorter and there is
a loose rocky section near the bottom which comes up fast. This dumps out
onto another dirt road which can be taken to the right for a long long
climb on a loose rocky surface or left for a ride down to Willard Brook.
We rode back up and did both downhill sections again and then headed
left to a major intersection. There is a tree with several blue and
red markers for hiking trails etc. A road headed left and up for a more
gradual climb to the start or to the right and down eventually ending
up at Willard Brook proper. We headed right and down. This section
gets technical with some rocks and steps to negotiate. The steps are
water bars for runoff diversion. This will eventually comes to more or
less of a T intersection. It heads left and up or continues down to
the brook. You can hear traffic on 119 from here. We headed left and
up.
Heading up is a long pull up a gradual incline but it is strewn with
rocks roots and the odd fallen log to make it more of a challenge. It
is all rideable but some technical sections will be tricky. It comes
out into a clearing which is a huge exposed rock/ledge. Head up and to
the left back into the woods. The trail gets soft and muddy in a few
spots but is still quite rideable. The trail becomes obscure for a few
feet but follow the tracks and keep going more or less straight. You
will end up pedalling through a pine grove, a field and finally dump out
into the upper parking lot for Damon Pond. Head left to get to the gate
and dirt road where you started or to get to 31. Head right to get to
the pond for swimming, 119 and Sheldon's ice cream stand at 119 & 31.
There are several trails in here we did not explore and we never really
consulted the map we picked up as we had a "guide" :-). The network of
trails is extensive however. There looked like some interesting single
track heading off in various directions some of which dead end. Heading
up will get you back to where you started eventually. You can reportedly
ride between Pearl Hill to Willard Brook though we stayed in the Willard
Brook/Damon Pond area. There are plenty of opportunities for some
rigorous uphill grinds and fast, fun thrill rides down. Stick to the
dual track and fire roads for an easy to medium difficulty ride. Explore
the single track for a medium to difficult ride.
Brian
|
| 2989.3 | Trout Brook Pond Rec. Area - Holden, MA | CONSLT::MCBRIDE | Reformatted to fit your screen | Mon Jul 10 1995 13:25 | 61 |
| Trout Brook Pond recreation area, Holden, MA. Town owned hiking area
with heavily wooded single track and a few meadow crossings. Pond and
picnic area available.
Rating - Easy to Medium single track. Difficulty comes from numerous
roots and rocks on parts of the trail. Terrain changes are easy with
short gradual climbs.
Directions: From Princeton Center, take Rt. 31 south to the old stone gas
station (closed) and take a left. Goodhile's store will be across the
street. Follow this road for approx. 1/2 mile to the parking lot on
the left. Ride around gate to trail head at other side of the pond.
From Holden, take Rt. 31 North and turn right at Goodhile's.
From I-190, take Rt 140 exit, north. Turn left after going under
I-190. Follow to end and turn right. Park will be on right about 1
mile. A trail map is posted at the parking area.
This is a small area with a main loop of about 4 miles. Follow the
blue dot trail to circle the park. It heads up a slight hill with a
steeper finish from the trailhead and then crosses a small meadow. The
trail heads back into the woods after angling to the left. There are a
lot of roots and some rocks in the trail troughout the ride. A few
downhill sections become more interesting as a result. There is a boggy
section that is rideable but the trail becomes less distinguishable as a
trail and looks more like a mud, rock, stump field. Follow the tracks
more or less straight and pick a reasonable line (there will be quite a
few) to avoid the largest obstacles.
The trail eventually comes to an intersection with a branch heading
right and one doubling back to the left. Stay right to continue the
loop. Another trail will come in and up from the right. There will be
trail signs nailed to a tree. The White, Red, and Blue trails all
intersect here. A ride donw to the right will dump you out into Mason
Park after crossing a bridge. You will come into a clearing with a
couple of obvious fire pits. Follow the dirt road to a pond across the
paved road with a water wheel which is interesting if you are into that
sort of thing. The short climb back up is not difficult.
The trail heads down from here and takes a hard left before you hit the
swamp. This is an easy turn to miss as the more obvious trail goes
straight for 30' or so before dead ending at the swamp. Follow the
trail to the left and up slightly to wind through a stand of pine
trees. The trail will eventually end up with a fast traverse across
the slope and back to the trail head.
At the trail head you can cross a small covered bridge and follow the
stream on the right. A trail is marked by yellow dots and appears to
head up a steeper hill than the main part of the park. Stay close to
the stream for the first 1/4 mile or so.
This is a decent area for a rider looking to hone some skills
negotiating rocks and other obstacles without having the added worry of
long steep climbs. A double loop could be done for a longer ride
exploring the red/white loops as well. There were not many obvious
side trails off the main loops. There is potential for some pretty
muddy sections after an extended period of rain.
A few of the downhill sections can be ridden quite fast though rocky
sections and obvious roots will come up fast. Some can be taken
in stride.
|